Israeli refinery Paz inks $700 mln Leviathan natgas supply deal

TEL AVIV, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Israel’s Paz Oil said on Thursday it signed a deal worth up to $700 million to buy 3.12 billion cubic meters of natural gas for its oil refinery from the Leviathan field.

Paz, Israel’s largest distributor of refined oil, said the deal was for 15 years or sooner, if it consumes the amount of the contract in a shorter period.

Leviathan, which is expected to start production in 2019 or 2020, was discovered in the eastern Mediterranean in 2010 and is one of the world’s largest offshore gas discoveries of the past decade. It is owned by Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration, Ratio Oil and Texas-based Noble Energy. (Reporting by Steven Scheer and Tova Cohen)